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Mattel first released 1:55 diecast Cars from the movie Cars back in 2006... from time to time, they've changed cardback series... we've taken a look at various cardbacks in previous articles...
In the beginning, came the Desert Back series Cars... First there were 12 Cars known as Desert Back 12 (DB12)... next came the Desert Back 16 - the same 12 Cars plus 4 new ones... Many people had bought the first 12 and wanted more - I didn't start collecting until after the Desert Back Series.
Next came the Supercharged cardback Cars... Many more Cars... several different cases... more stores were carrying these because they were popular with customers... I bought almost all of those but usually just one of most which I opened without first taking pictures of the carded Car...
Up next came the World of Cars (WOC) cardback Cars... many more Cars... several different cases... in addition to new Cars, Mattel re-released several others that had previously been released on the new cardback... it was during this series that Mattel released their first Chase Cars... it was also during this series that I started buying cases of Cars... I was having trouble finding all the new releases in stores...case assortments were starting to leave a little to be desired... stores weren't getting in every new case because they weren't selling all their inventory... I also started trading with friends to pick up International versions of several of these Cars - I liked how the name looked in different languages... For example, Mater was also known as Hook or Martin - I thought that was cool.
Next came the Race O Rama (ROR) series of Cars... new Cars... several different cases... many re-released Cars on yet another cardback... the Chase Cars continued... I continued to buy cases because I didn't want to miss out on any new or Chase Cars... again not every store got in every case... it was difficult to find every new Car in stores...
After the ROR series Mattel split the product line into 2 distinct series... a new concept, Lenticular Cars with moving eyes were made available to all retailers because the classic or fixed eyed Cars became a Target exclusive known as the Final Lap series... Most collectors did not care for the lenticular Cars as well... I bought them because I had to find new Cars to satisfy my Cars-a-holicism... but I was starting to feel resentful that the only local new Cars I could find contained mostly Cars I already had with fixed eyes... I don't have a local Target store - I had to travel out of town to shop at Target or rely on friends to help me out.
The first several cases of Final Lap Cars contained 18 Cars... perhaps half of the 18 were new Cars - 2 or 3 of each new Car... the rest were re-released Cars on yet another new cardback... I bought new Cars for myself... but I was no longer buying them all... The Final Lap singles were $4.99 plus tax each - at least $1.00 more than the lenticular Cars... In this article, we'll take a look at the new Cars released in the Final Lap series.
Case A
Blowing Bubbles Mater was one of 3 new Cars in Final Lap case A... The other new ones were Polly Puddlejumper and Skip Ricter.. there were 4 of each in the case - the other 6 Cars were re-releases... I did not buy any of the re-releases for myself at this time... I already had many of The King - why did I need more?
Polly Puddlejumper was a fan... she was later re-released in a Target 7 pack with Kit Revster.
Skip Ricter was one of the reporters.
I did not find Final Lap case A in very many Target stores... for some reason, most Target stores I visited had more of the Lenticular cases that were available at other retailers than Final Lap cases... I'd like to know the reasoning behind that decision.
Case B
Approximately 6 to 8 weeks after case A, Final Lap Case B was released... there were 4 each of 2 new Cars - Antonio Veloce Excellente, a white Maserati, and Dexter Hoover with Checkered Flag:
The other 10 Cars were re-releases... Again, I didn't buy any of the re-releases for myself... I only saw Final Lap case B Cars one day, at 2 different Indianapolis Target stores... and as the release didn't match up with payday nicely, I only bought a few of each... I had to rely on others to help me with Antonio... I sent one of my Dexter Hoover to a customizer who was making me some custom Apple pittys, crew chiefs, and racers - I'll add photos later... prior to the release of Duff Wrecks, the white pickup truck, Dexter Hoover was what was used for custom pickup trucks.
Case C
Final Lap case C was found in stores within 2 weeks of the release of case B... not every store had gotten case B, and as it was right before Christmas 2009, stores needed new Cars to sell... There were 4 each of 3 new Cars - Pit Crew Sarge, Costanza Della Corsa, and Muddy McQueen:
I liked Costanza's green - Costanza was a sharp looking Maserati.
At the time, Muddy McQueen was just another McQueen to me:
although Muddy McQueen has become one of the more expensive Final Lap Cars over 3 years later.
I found Final Lap case C Cars at many Target stores, but again, being close to Christmas (and right after Christmas) I didn't buy all that I saw...
Case D
Final Lap case D came out towards the end of January 2010... Again, there were 4 each of 3 new Cars and 6 repeats... The new Cars were One Eyed Mater, Donna Pits, and Nick Stickers...
Donna was one of the rusty old Cars:
Nick was a small green Car with lots of stickers on him:
The case D re-releases had already been re-released as Final Lap Cars - The King, Lightning McQueen, Fillmore, and Radiator Springs McQueen... Most people already had enough of those in their collection... and Donna and Nick were relatively minor movie characters that more casual collectors didn't really care to add to their collections... I left several case D Cars on the pegs....and I wasn't the only one, as Nick was re-released in a later Final Lap case.
Case E
Final Lap case E was first released in early March 2010... This case of 18 featured 3 each of 4 new Cars and 1 each of 6 re-releases... The new Cars were Wet McQueen, Vern (the taxi), Jay Limo (a take-off on Jay Leno), and one of the most eagerly anticipated Cars, Race Damaged Mood Springs...
Here's Jay Limo:
Here's Vern:
Here's Wet Lightning McQueen:
Race Damaged Mood Springs flew off the pegs - I only saw it a few times, and it was usually in quantity 1... the other 3 were plentiful in my area... Friends in Alaska and California helped me out with RDMS... As of today (April 23, 2013), Race Damaged Mood Springs goes for a premium price on eBay... It's currently listed for between $65 and $150.
I did buy a few of the re-releases from this case:
Sheriff:
Mater:
Lightning McQueen:
Case F
Final Lap case F was released in mid-April 2010... there were 4 each of 3 new Cars: Jamie, Johnny, and Lightning McQueen with Cone...
Jamie was blue:
Johnny was green:
Johnny and Jamie were only on the screen for a very brief period of time... I first saw them during a Cars hunt in Louisville, Kentucky... McQueen was another 2 piece McQueen but had a plastic cone...these tended to stay on the pegs... Lightning McQueen with Cone was recently re-released in 2013 case C - it looks a lot better as a unibody in 2013 than it did in 2010 as a 2 piece Car, in my opinion.
In Conclusion
Between the higher price of $4.99 per single, and case distribution including minor characters, the Final Lap Cars weren't as popular as Mattel and Target had hoped... Target reduced the number of cases that they ordered - cases G and H also were sold in the UK at the same time or before they were released at Target in the US... People like finding Cars in stores, but they like to have success when it comes to going on a Cars hunt... the $4.99 price point also was a little more expensive than many people like to pay... Later cases only contained 12 Cars and only contained the new Cars.
I will add photos of loose Final Lap Cars in the future.
We'll look at the remaining Final Lap cases in an upcoming article.
Some information on case content taken from:
http://carsthetoys.yuku.com/topic/51...1#.UXa8AEq_JU0
As always, I appreciate your comments... thanks for reading.
Chris
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